Rechargeable LED

Knog's Boomer Rechargeable front light has all the brands' trademark chic and belts out a decent amount of light into the bargain. Arguably the most waterproof of the plug in breed thanks to those beefy neoprene covers, there's a genuine child-like wow factor seeing the battery and circuitry through their clear bodies... well there is for me anyway.

The Light and Motion Stella 150 N sits toward the lower end of Light and Motion's very successful Stella range. Starting with the 120 (denoting its output measured in Lumens) a few years ago, the range has now moved on to include a 300, and indeed a 600 Lumen light (well, actually the 600 is a pair of 300s supplied in a set).

Hope's Vision One is a self-contained wire-free light with a claimed output of 240 lumens from a single, large LED emitter. Hope's reputation is built on CNC machining things out of lumps of aluminium, so it's no surprise that that's exactly how the Vision One is made. It's rather nicely done, too, with a ridged outer surface, laser-etched logos and a choice of colours. It's quite large but not all that heavy, with a claimed weight of 110g (not including batteries).

The Moon X-Power 500 looks neat and compact and feels pleasingly chunky yet light.

Mounting the light was easy, the mount is easy to adjust and fitted very solidly to the bars, and stayed firmly in position without having to be cranked up stupidly tight. It has some horizontal adjustment too, so you can point the beam towards the verge and make sure you're not going to dazzle any oncoming traffic. The release switch is easy to locate and operate, even in gloves.

Lupine make some of the most serious (and expensive) bike lights going and this Piko is the baby of the bunch. It comes in three flavours, Max (which we have here) Mini and Ultra.

The Piko Max is a small torch style unit aimed squarely at the booming all-in-one market that the likes of Exposure have helped to create. It's a pleasing little slab of metal and fits onto the bike with a simple o-ring. I found it a bit of a struggle to squeeze onto oversized bars and users with a weak grip or small hands might have a hard time.

In the universe of bike lights the Magicshine MJ-872 (catchy name) is a brighter star than most. Pumping out a claimed 1,600 lumens it's a seriously powerful bit of kit. The beam pattern isn't that well tailored for road riding but you can't argue that you're not getting value for money here. If you venture off-road as well as on, this light is capable of lighting your way.